Crumbling Kunoichis
by starstrukk234
Summary: "Fairytales are known around the world, right? So why isn't ours?" A tale of five girls all crumbling at the core of themselves from unrequited love that accept the mission that could kill them all in hopes of getting their wish. "When one door closes, another opens."
1. Prologue

Crumbling Kuniochis

A/N: I was sick on my birthday and stayed home when this idea popped into my head XD. And yes, it is very much anti-SasuSaku/NaruHina/KibaIno/NejiTen(Ship it, though)/ShikaTema(also ship it). Also, sorry with how short this first chapter is. It _is _the prologue, though… Anyway, enjoy~ And reviews would be loved!  
**Warning: Mentions of depression and suicide in this chapter. **

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_**Prologue**_

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What it meant to be a kunoichi was that you had to be ready for anything and everything to come at you, never let your guard down, even at the store, train your hardest even if it means getting dirt in your hair or under your nails, don't drag down the team, don't use the excuse "I'm on my period, whore!" to skip practice/missions/trainings. And the biggest rule of them all:

Never expect a fairytale ending in love or happiness. There are going to be very few who get in that category and it may not be you. Don't let the wanting cloud your judgment.

For centuries, all women abided to these rules if they followed down that path. Other women had chosen to be stay-at-home mothers with their family to love a happy life, not wanting to give up love for the village. Some of the more hypocritical citizens had criticized them for such selfish acts while the ninjas who had seen the most bloodshed applauded them for being as smart as they were.

But with each year growing, it seemed the number of female kunoichis was diminishing at a quick rate, causing more havoc across the villages. Without women, they were unable to obtain information through reconnaissance missions that dealt with going undercover at strip clubs or bars. And all the men absolutely _refused _under any circumstance to do those kind of missions.

And after the Second Great Ninja War, it seemed that all hope was lost when Tsunade had finally stopped when she lost both her brother and lover – she hadn't listened to the "never expect a fairytale ending" rule and fell for Dan. After she lost him, she realized it took too much from her – and became a gambler on the streets.

When everyone had planned to tossed in the towels for all hope in kunoichis, five names rose from the ashes and spread like wildfire across all the Shinobi Countries. There was Temari of the Sand, the great wind user and most ruthless kuniochi. Ino Yamanaka, the prodigy of the Yamanaka clan. Hinata Hyuuga, heiress of the Hyuuga clan. Tenten, the Weapons Mistress. And last but not least, Sakura Haruno, the girl of Team Seven with Two Minds.

When the girls had all been of young ages, their progress showed at a depressingly low rate – except Temari and maybe Ino. But it all took was two years for them to gain new names that everyone was calling out with renewed hope of the world coming together again at the strength of all five. Sakura Haruno, the upcoming Second Tsunade. Ino Yamanaka, the Mind Walker. Temari of the Sand, the sister of the Kazekage and the still the most ruthless kunoichi. Hinata Hyuuga, the One Who Never Gave Up. Tenten… well Tenten was still the Weapons Mistress but it had a ring to it. And it still scared the hell out of some.

They all seemed to have won over the hearts of many over the years. Not for love, but for hope. For the hope that they would be the leaders to take the reins and hold the kuniochis up and never let the weakness of love and happy take control of someone.

But life didn't work like that. Not at all. Life was literally a bitch. It would throw the line with bait of happiness and hope and carefree at you to get you out and take it and hang on to it like a lifeline and then suddenly take it away from you, leaving you in shambles of depression and hopelessness and the feeling of being lost. And that was exactly how they felt.

Sasuke had left Sakura on the bench when she was 13 and she was so broken on the inside that it was all starting to flow out and she could barely even feel any emotions. Ino had been able to get over the Uchiha and took an eye to a certain Inuzuka who let her down by being overprotective of Hinata. The blonde now spends most time in the flower shop. Hinata had felt the massive pain of heartache when Naruto seemed to ignore her for Sakura and she chose to instead spend time with her cousin while the blonde was away. Tenten felt all alone when Neji stopped showing up to practices to instead be with Hinata. And that was her training regime now. And Temari had taken the first pitchfork to her heart when she saw Shikamaru watching Ino play with flowers with a small smile on his face. She had began to walk around the town with Shizune so she could keep her heart intact.

And they couldn't train as hard anymore. They looked like they were just sleep walking around the town, eyes glazed over and faces showing no emotion. They all tried to avoid each other seeing as how some had taken the way to blaming the others for their problem. And they knew once they spent time together, one of two things would happen. They would all either kill each other or break down crying and just kill themselves in the presence of others who felt that way.

No one could make them happy. Everyone tried to make them laugh, to smile, to show any emotion. Lee even went as far as watching Sakura in her bedroom. But all he got was a blank, dead stare that sent massive chills racing up his spine.

No matter what though, all the girls seemed to have just given up on life, all waiting for the time death would come and greet it with open arms. It was then that everyone learned they were falling. Falling into a dark abyss where they couldn't be saved. Falling into depression. And no one seemed to realize it or want to help.

_They're kunoichi, they will get through it. They have seen worse, done worse than depression – why the hell are they making such a big deal about it? Oh, they need to just get over it! They don't have the worst lives! I have to take care of ten kids, by myself! They're such babies. Why are they even kunoichi? _**It's just depression. Get the fuck over it and grow up. **

These were words that were constantly said on the streets they would pick or even have said to their faces by the ignorant civilians who were clueless as to what they were going through.

And one comment was said to Hinata – _No wonder Naruto doesn't love you! You are such a worthless baby! – _that had finally pushed her over the edge. She went out to the forest alone with one kunai wearing just a pair of pants and a tank top, deep blush hair a mess from not having been washed in so long. Taking a seat in the grass next to the river, she slit her wrist, once, twice, and soon lost count before her vision faded to black.

And then she was waking up. The deep scent of sterile cleaning supplies hit her so hard, she began to cough. When she opened, her eyes, all she could see was white walls, white ceilings, white bed sheets, white everything. And for a split second, she thought that she had ended up in Heaven and was gone from the cruel world until she heard the clacking of heels on the tile.

Turning her head lethargically, she saw a very pissed off looking Tsunade, hands on her hips and honey golden eyes blazing. Her face held many of wrinkles from the deep scowl she held on her face. "My office, tomorrow. Seven A.M. Late and I will send ANBU to retrieve you." And then she walked off.

And Hinata lay in the bed, tears pouring out of her eyes because she had to continue living, continue breathing. And all she wanted to do was simply fall into the embrace of death.

* * *

A/N: I know this part probably made _no sense whatsoever _but just bear with me here, please T_T. I haven't even gotten to the real story. Like I said, this was the prologue to explain some things and to how the girls are in depression. Also, the story takes place when Sakura/Ino/Hinata are 14, Tenten is 15, and Temari is 18 so that's why they aren't known as the ones who fought with any of the Akatsuki in case you guys were wondering.


	2. Make Overs

Crumbling Kunoichis

A/N: Quick thanks to **TopazDragon **for noticing the run-on sentence that I didn't mean to have. It just kind of… Worked its way in…. Anywho, I actually had all the pairings planned out but then I read a review where someone asked for HinaHida/Zetsu. I originally planned for HidaTen and SasoHina but I can change them around if you guys want. So, what do you say? HidaTen and SasoHina or HinaHida/Zestu and SasoTen? You know what, just tell me which Akatsuki you guys want the girls to be with.  
**Warning: **_Mentions of Depression, Paranoia, Anorexia, Self-Harm, Bulimia, Anxiety, Schizophrenia, Bipolar Disorder, and Parasomnia __are mentioned throughout the story. Please stop reading if you are uncomfortable with such.  
_

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_**Make Overs  
**_

* * *

Tsunade thrummed her fingernails on the wooden desk with an air of impatience. The repeating "tick-tock" of the clock behind her was setting her blood pressure skyrocketing because she wanted to crush it so much. Honestly, was it really that hard to get a regular, silent clock set up around the office?

And not to mention the girls. They were all scattered over the room, trying their hardest to ignore each other and to not be seen. Sakura and Ino were sitting pretty closely, though, but still keeping a fair distance between them. Over in one corner, Tenten sat with her back facing them, sharpening her tools and washing them until they were spotless – which took about five minutes per weapon with the way she wanted to keep to herself. And then Temari was standing by the window, arms crossed and a sad look on her face. And all were very quiet.

Tsunade wanted to rip her hair out and slam her face on the desk. But she chose to groan to herself just loud enough to be mistaken as something you heard and deemed it the wind. It was just so frustrating how they all were acting towards one another, like blaming each other for something they had no rights to stop.

And at the same time, she understood. She knew what it meant to be a kunoichi - she had drilled the lines over and over into her head after what had happened to Dan until she could recite it backwards from memory. The pain one has to suffer because of the rules of the kunoichi. She really wanted to slap whoever created it. No, boys weren't stronger than girls in every department – _We can do whatever boys can while wearing heels, thank you – _except the emotional one. Men couldn't fall in love as easy as women because it was just in their nature to fall quickly. And thus why many women wound up heartbroken.

And while she understood the area of heartbreak, she couldn't exactly understand why they were blaming _each other. _They were all going through the same thing, weren't they? So why couldn't they just help each other out? _Ugh, women. _She thought while sipping a cup of sake. _Even when you're one, you won't be able to understand them. _

The rattling of a door knocked her from her musings and everyone's attention was brought to that side of the room. Someone hesitantly racked their fingers against the wood.

"Come in!" Tsunade called, hoping it was either Hinata her ANBU with the young girl.

The door opened with a slight "squeak" as the hinge moved - Tsunade made a mental note to get that fixed by one of the gennin teams; being the Hokage did have its advantages that outweighed paperwork – and walked in Hinata. Immediately, Ino and Tenten bristled at the sight of the ghostly pale girl. Their glares went on deaf ears, though, as Hinata walked over the book case and sat in front of it, staring at her wrists with watery eyes.

When all the girls went back to what they were doing – cleaning weapons, staring at something, and giving others the cold shoulder – Tsunade opened up a hidden compartment in her desk and pulled out a scroll that looked like it had seen better days. The paper was a dull yellow, the edges looked as if they had been dipped into a fire pit, and the words written on it were a light gray instead of black.

She stood up and slammed her hands down to get their attention. They all jumped in their seats and looked up at her with wide eyes and hands on their hearts.

"Good, I have your attention now." She stated dryly before plopping into her seat. "Now girls, I know you have been going through a… _tough _time in your lives," She added emphasis onto 'tough' and nearly flinched with the five of them, "but you still have rules to abide by. We are kunoichi and must do what is right for our village." She stood up and passed the scroll to Temari, who took it with a suspicious look.

Squinting her eyes, Temari looked over the hoary paper and felt the shock enter her body at an alarming rate and could barely feel her arms or chest. Her fingers were going numb. She looked up to Tsunade's impassive face and opened her mouth before closing it and swallowing.

"Y-You're kidding, right? There is no way we could carry out a mission like this, not with our skills."

Tsunade nodded her head and snatched the paper away from Temari's hand, walking into the center of the room while reading over it and ignoring the other girls' surprised and wary looks. "Yes, I know that. But you five would have the best reasons to leave the village. It would make the best of sense." She walked over to Tenten's corner that was close to the door and dropped the scroll into the girl's lap.

Brown eyes met honey gold in a curious way before she placed her katana next to her on top of a small pile of kunai. She hesitantly unrolled the parchment as if afraid it would crumble under her fingers. Reading the words on the page one at a time, Tenten's eyes grew wider and wider. There was something stuck in her throat and it was making it harder to breath. _This isn't something we can do! Not without teamwork and we especially don't have that! _

"Tsunade-sama! You can't be serious! We would all have to work together to carry out this mission!" Tenten exclaimed, standing up to look her idol in the eyes. "And if you haven't noticed, we can barely be in the same room together!"

Tsunade nodded and snatched the scroll from her hands and placing it on the desk. Hinata, Ino, and Sakura all gave her a dirty look for not letting them look over the mission details.

"I know that. And that is the exact reason I called you here today. Before we go over the entire mission, I have planned something else for you girls." She walked over to the book shelf that Hinata sat by and pulled out a thin book. It was covered in dust and the words were hard to make out so Tsunade blew on it and allowed the dust to float around and land somewhere in room – and also ignored Hinata's coughing when dust settled in her mouth.

Ino frowned before glaring at everyone in the room and snarled "If it's some damned team building exercise, then I'm out." The others nodded in agreement, glaring at Tsunade.

The Hokage rolled her eyes and dropped the book on the table, flipping through the series of pages until she found what she was looking for. Temari – who was the closest to the table thus being closest to the book – looked over to see what exactly she was planning to do with them since she wasn't trusting the Hokage very much at the moment. When she saw the neatly traced designs on the page, her face contorted in horror.

"I-Is _that _what we are doing?" There was a hint of nervousness that made Temari's voice sound shaky. Tsunade smirked at her pale face and wondered with amusement exactly why she sounded so scared.

"Yes." She drawled, still watching the younger kunoichi practically break out into a cold sweat. "Is something wrong with it?"

Horror filled teal eyes slowly looked up from the page opened in the book and met with the Hokage's. Immediately, her hand latched onto one of her ponytails and shook her head, pointing at the page. "I am _not _doing that to my hair!"

The other four in the room watched both with muddled expressions, and Ino grasped her ponytail – that had just grown back, too, so like hell she was going to do whatever to it, thank you – as if she was trying to protect it.

"What is she supposed to do to her hair, Tsunade-sama?" She probed hesitantly, as if asking a person at a funeral who just died.

The busty blonde whirled around and threw the book to Ino, who had barely caught it with just a little fumbling. She flipped through the pages quickly, looking for the folded corner she had barely caught a glimpse of before it nearly hit her in the face. The paper on her fingertips was making it hard, however, since it was crumbled and felt like it would disintegrate if touched in a wrong way.

When she found the crease at the top of the page, she eagerly studied the contents written across the dusty paper. But there were no words, no letters, no directions of what to do. Only pictures of women with no face and wearing stylish clothes with long, gorgeous hair. Her eyebrows drew together in confusion and she looked back up at Tsunade for answers.

The older woman flicked off a cockroach from her desk and scowled in disgust when it hit her window. She turned and met Ino's eyes, humming in question as to why she was giving her a look like that. "Is there something wrong, Miss Yamanaka?"

Te blonde simply held up the book, open wide enough for everyone to be able to see if they shifted just a little. "What exactly are these?" She pointed to the design of one woman with bright red hair to her thighs and wearing a tiny skirt with a long sleeved fishnet shirt.

"That's what we are doing today!" Tsunade smiled at them, her cheeks dusting over in slight pink as she praised herself. _These girls will love what I have planned! I hope… _

Tenten looked at the pages skeptically, not exactly understanding what it was that Tsunade wanted. "We are going to draw pictures of women…?" She voiced aloud, looking at Tsunade like the Hokage had lost her mind.

Tsunade stared back blankly before sighing and rubbing her temples. "No, we will not be drawing women. We are going to _make over _you girls into those women. Honestly, is it such a hard concept to understand?" Tsunade murmured the last part under her breath so no one could hear her. Here she thought that these girls were smart. What, did they just choose to be dumb or did depression actually affect them that much? She severely hoped for the former.

Hinata bit her lip and looked at the book in Ino's hand then to the scroll on the desk and tried to piece together what was going on here. Why would they need to have a make-over for this mission? And just what exactly _was _the mission? Afraid that asking would bring unwanted attention on her, she quietly began to shuffle through the books on the shelves she could reach to find something that may occupy her time. They were mostly thick and the leather was old and worn and the pages looked as if they were made over a hundred years ago. Which, maybe they were. But she didn't ponder on it until she found one titled _Bingo Book_. Her eyebrow furrowed and ran her finger over the letters before pulling it out.

It was white and not as thick as the other books, but still quite thick. She opened the first page and saw the face of a man with bright purple hair and deep green eyes. The smile he had made shivers go up and down her spine. It reminded her of Temari's brother – Gaara, was it? – when she first saw him in the Chunnin Exams that year. The same cold, blood-lusting smile. Under the picture, his name was written in scrawling ink that she knew wasn't Tsunade's. _**Ruki Mitoshi. **_The information on this man went on and on until she flipped the page and someone else's face appeared. Page after page was in the same context and Hinata finally noticed each headband had a scratch through the forehead protector. Missing-nin? But why were they in a book? She quickly looked up to see if anyone was watching her before she stuffed the book in her overly large jacket.

She had some studying to do at the hospital. Well, if they left her alone. It wasn't her brightest idea to cut her wrists in an attempt of suicide.

"Okay, girls, since you aren't in the…" Tsunade trailed off, observing each girl and it looked as though they hadn't showered in awhile changed clothes, or even eaten in months to her. They were not ready for this make over. They needed to freshen up. "in the _best _condition, I'm sending you home now so you girls can clean up, eat something hot, and get a good sleep. Be here by eleven. Dismissed." She waved her hand at the girls and allowed the ANBU in to take Hinata.

The girls did not say bye to each other. They didn't even look at each other as they walked down the steps and walked to their own destination. They each had their own thoughts about what went on today but Temari and Tenten looked the most wary and nervous. Ino bet it had something to do with the scroll only they had been allowed to read. But she couldn't understand why Hinata seemed to be so stiff while standing with ANBU and holding her stomach like it hurt. Was she on her period? Which reminded Ino… when was the last time she had hers?

She found it hard to swallow and began to walk at a brisk pace to her house, hopping to get there soon. Something important was needed to be cheeked to confirm her assumption. The same hair that had been gripping her hair earlier finally unclenched by her side and a small amount of hair hit the dirt.

When the flower shop came into view, she immediately ran up the stairs, ignoring her mother's calls and hurriedly ran to her bathroom. She peeled off all her clothes, her hair tie included. With shaking hands, she stood on the scale and looked down as the numbers went higher and tried to ignore her stomach growling.

"81 pounds." She whispered to herself, and grabbed her stomach with a disgusted frown. "You were supposed to be 80 pounds, Ino. You stupid, fat pig."

She walked back into her room in only her underwear and moved over to the full body mirror, almost crying when she saw her gigantic stomach, overly large thighs, flabby arms, and super-sized muffin top. She began to scratch at her body, screaming that she needed to lose it, she wasn't beautiful and that's why Kiba didn't love her. Because she was huge. She was going to lose it all on this mission so when she came home – if she came back, at least. She didn't know whether or not if she wanted to quite yet – he would notice her and then fall in love with her and they would get married and live together. Everything would be perfect.

Her fingers ran through the hair growing on her stomach. "Yes. Perfect. Everything will be perfect. We will get married and then he will forget all about Hinata and I would have his children." She smiled and lay down on the floor, facing her reflection. "Just don't eat. If you don't eat, you will be perfect and beautiful."

For two more hours, Ino stayed there, talking to herself and making her believe that perfection was more important than food. She was, of course, close to perfect. So why would she give it up this close in the game? She wouldn't. When her mother called her for dinner, Ino couldn't feel the pain or hear the rumbling in her stomach and told her she wasn't hungry. With great reluctance, Mrs. Yamanaka walked away, worrying over her daughter. This same pattern had been going on since she began to work overtime in the flower shop.

Ino got up off the floor and grabbed a marker from her desk. She stumbled into the bathroom and turned on the shower to almost slipped trying to get in. She reached for her mango shampoo and lathered her hair in it, not bothering to pay any attention to the large pile of blonde hair heading to her drain. She pondered over whether or not she should shave the hair that seemed to be rapidly growing over her body. Deciding that Kiba obviously didn't like girls with hair littered over their skin, she grabbed the razor and carefully ran it over her skin, making sure not to nick it. Those cuts hurt like hell, you know?

When she finally stepped out, she pulled all her hair into a bun on the top of her head and ripped the cap off the marker. Ino smiled at the soft tip before writing things all along her stomach, her ribs, her wrists, thighs, anywhere that was able to hide with clothing. Mean things, quotes, and telling her to not eat was tattooed across her skin and she admired her work in the mirror, thinking of how beautiful she looked and that Kiba was an idiot for not noticing. Yet. She would make sure he knew. Just in a matter of time.

She quickly threw on her sweatshirt and shorts that supplied as pajamas for that night and snuggled into bed, holding onto the stuffed octopus she received for her 6th birthday from Shikamaru. Her dreams consisted of mostly her and Kiba walking around their kids and talking about how they fell in love – the night Ino and the others returned from her mission, he asked her to share a picnic with him under the stars and it was love almost the second her eyes shone with the stars and the moon illuminated her skin. It was all just perfect.

* * *

Temari woke up the next morning to the blaring sound of her alarm. She blinked the sleep from her eyes and stared at the wall in front of her, listening to the repeating _Beep! Beep! _coming from the annoying object next to her. She didn't feel like moving at all. Her arms felt heavy and her entire body felt numb. All she could do was move her eyes to watch clock, trying to will it to stop with her eyes. When it didn't work – not like she thought it would, though. She wasn't stupid – she finally forced her arms to move and turned pressed the sleep button. Her hand fell and hung loosely next to her bed like a noodle.

For twenty more minutes she stayed like that before glancing back at the bright red numbers – 9:50 - and decided it was time to start getting ready lest she was late. Her hair tumbled to her shoulders and she was very thankful that she had chosen the night before to wash up a bit. Her face wasn't as oily as the day before and her hair looked shinier with more volume. The thick strands were also much softer and didn't leave any residue of dirt on her pillow. She made a mental not to wash the cover of it since it hadn't been cleaned in – what? Days, weeks, months? She wasn't entirely sure.

She strapped on her red belt to hold the kimono in place and jammed her fan in her makeshift belt to keep it from falling out. She didn't bother to put on her weapons holder. She didn't really think they would need them since they were going to get a "make over". Her nose scrunched up in distaste and she couldn't help but wonder why they needed to do it. Tsunade said they had the best reason for leaving, right? So then why would they change their appearance? It just made no sense to her.

And then she recalled what the scroll had said. Her blood turned cold and her dinner churned in her stomach at the memory. The mission assigned to them wasn't something that just named Chunnin were going to accomplish. Especially at the age of 14, 15, or even 18. Add on to the fact that they weren't exactly mentally stable as of the moment. She knew before they even started that the mission was going to fail. There were no reasons for her to believe otherwise and she refused to place heart into a bucket of false hopes. They would be lucky to make it out alive.

The smell of sweet chestnuts brought her from her thoughts and made her hungry stomach noticeable. She groaned and quickly jogged over to the booth and bought two bags of them, smiling as she popped a few into her mouth. Konoha really knew how to eat, she would give them that. She crunched her way through one bag while walking to the Hokage Tower, the other one placed in a hidden pocket on the inside of her kimono.

She was almost to her destination when she bumped into a figure. She watched her sweet chestnuts hit the ground and roll under a moving cart that squashed them. She twitched and turned a dark look to the person who dared ruin her food. She opened her mouth to scream expletives at the ignorant man who obviously needed glasses if he couldn't walk the nearly empty streets without hitting someone or something.

The second her eyes met with hazel brown, however, her mouth shut and throat squeezed too hard for her to talk. Shikamaru's face held the same expression as hers with his hands stuffed in his pockets as usual. He stared up at her, she down at him while waiting for the other to speak or say sorry or something. When it became obvious neither would, Temari coughed and picked up the chestnuts from the dirt, face turning a bright red under his strong scrutiny. She tried to make sure that she didn't flounder in front of him or else he would judge her and laugh and begin to go on and on about how Ino was so much better than her.

When she picked everything up – not even faltering once – she turned to him and nodded silently before heading back to the Hokage Tower, making sure to keep her composure emotionless and on-guard like she should have been when they bumped each other. _Another reason to not send us on this mission. We won't be able to focus clearly. _She looked over her shoulder to see the Nara standing in the same place, eyes staring down at where she had just stood. She sighed sadly and continued her lethargic walk to the Tower.

* * *

When Hinata finally arrived, the girls were all in the same place as yesterday but with different looks. Ino had a dazed, mad look while glaring at something under her arm warmers; Temari looked sad, ready to cry even; Tenten didn't even show any emotion, just looking down at her katana; and Sakura looked sick, horribly so. Like she had been throwing up all night.

She quickly took her seat by the book case, watching the ANBU flicker from the door just seconds before Tsunade closed it. The older blonde looked a little too happy with the wide smile of hers. "Okay! Let's get down to that day's activities! I asked five of my professional make-up artists to come over and help us. I hope you girls are ready." She cooed and ordered them to stand up if they hadn't already. Hinata watched Sakura wobble on her feet before she was able to get a grip on the wall to keep her up. It was a wonder how her thin legs were even able to hold her up.

They all walked down the hallway to a staircase lit up with candles and torches. Instead of walking down like she was prepared for upon the sight, they walked up the flight of steps. It was creepy, like one of those stereotypical staircases in horror movies that echoed every time they stepped down on a stone step. And no matter how many torches were lit, it felt like there was a ghost hanging around her shoulder every step of the way. She could see her breath.

When they arrived at the top, all five girls gasped in shock. It easily matched the décor of a salon that civilians would go to for prepping up for special occasions that arose. It had the sinks, the hair dye, the shampoo and conditioner, nail files, nail polish and everything to make sure their hair was perfect. Five women at around the age of 17 stood around the hair dryers, popping bubbles, laughing and filing down their nails. They didn't seem to notice the Hokage and girls as they were still talking about something.

"Omg, can you _believe _that Aiko would leave me like that?! And for Ami, of all people!"

"I know! Why would he even want such a slut as his girlfriend? Men these days, can't even see what's right in front of them!"

Sakura silently agreed from next to Tsunade at the conversation. Men really couldn't see what was right in front of them, especially Sasuke. She did everything to make him notice her, even grew her hair out! What had she done wrong?! It was when he left her that she wanted the answer. She was perfect in her eyes; pretty hair, beautiful eyes, cute face, nice personality, and even agreed with everything he said. Isn't that what men liked!? _**Maybe it's because you're fat. **_A dark voice had whispered to her one day. It really scared Sakura when she heard it because she didn't think anyone would be in her room.

When she found no one, she was utterly confused and felt even more nervous. Who was that talking to her? _**I'm over here! **_The dark voice taunted her. Sakura looked to her left to see, yet again, no one. _**Other way, you stupid idiot. **_The harshness made her flinch and whimper before she turned to face the mirror. Her bright eyes blinked back at her. _**Look at those thighs! Think you eat enough, fatso? Maybe Ino isn't the real pig. **_Her eyebrows furrowed. She wasn't fat. She barely weighed anything over 80. _**80 pounds of pure fat. No wonder Sasuke would give you those disgusting stares when you ate. Putting on more and more fat. Bet that was why he wouldn't give you any attention. **_

For weeks and weeks, Sakura tried to shut the voice out, to keep it talking softly. It wouldn't work. Whenever she was eating dinner or looking through her clothes for something to wear that day is when it would speak up, telling her how fat she was and over exaggerating how much weight she was putting on. It got to the point that all Sakura could see in the mirror was a tub of fat lard that was pushing the edge of obesity. She began to listen to the voice after that, hearing out what it had to say, what advice was being given. And before she knew it, she was slumped over her toilet and jamming her fingers down her throat to puke up the dinner from that night.

She sat back on her heels, eyes wide and body shaking as she finally realized what she had just done. But the voice was praising her, cooing that she had done a magnificent job, that if she kept it up, she would be perfect. And when Sasuke came back –she knew he would. Naruto promised her he would bring that Uchiha back – he would see her beauty and perfection and fall in love. And they would get married with three or more children to rebuild the Uchiha clan and everything would be perfect. It was at that moment that her addiction started. And after every meal, she would spend one or two minutes in the bathroom to be more perfect.

Her weight of almost 80 dropped to 69 in just a few months. At training, she would have a hard time keeping up with the regime Tsunade would recommend and it got to the point that she had to stop. The nutrients she needed weren't getting to her body as often and she was becoming dehydrated more easily, along with her bones almost snapping a few times. And Tsunade couldn't figure out what was wrong, even as a medic with her skill. So she left her apprentice alone.

When Sakura had finally hit 63 pounds, her emotions were hard to control. One week she would be happy and feel on top of the world while the next she would feel sad and want to cry her eyes out. It was hard to deal with and she had passed out one week when on a mission with Hinata, Kiba, and Shino. When she awoke, she had a feeding tube on with Team Eight, Team Seven, and Team Gai standing all around with different looks that ranged from horror to pity to impassive with a hint of sadness. She refused to tell them of her disease. They were going to try to keep her from being perfect. She told them she hadn't been able to sleep for awhile and they all bought. Hours after they left, she was released to give home. The second her foot was in the door, her fingers were down her throat and she was throwing up again. She refused to gain the weight she had desperately tried to lose.

Last night she weighed herself and was disgusted to find she had actually _gained three pounds. __**Can't stop from stuffing your face? Or have you tried lately? **_She was going to lose the weight and then more. She was going to be skinny and not that the fat potato she saw in the mirror. It was all going to end. Starting with this mission.

* * *

"Ah-_hem_." Tsunade interrupted the conversation between the chatting girls with an annoyed pursing of her lips. "These are my clients I was talking about. They need to be ready by tonight, please. I will be back up at around eight. Good luck." And then she turned and walked down the steps. One girl rolled her eyes and dropped her nail file onto the desk next to her.

"Mia. Someone, I don't care who, come sit here." She chewed her gum in loud, popping noises that reminded the girls of a cow eating grass. Tenten stepped up to the leather seat with a smile.

"Hi! My name is Tenten!" She thrust her hand out and patiently waited for Mia to grab it to shake hands. Mia just looked down at it with blank eyes before turning around to grab something. Tenten frowned and slowly put her hand to her side.

"Okay, just put this one and sit down." Mia commanded and threw something to Tenten. It looked like a weird sort of apron that went all around her body. Slightly confused on how to wear it, Tenten observed the other hair dressers and how they put it on the girls. She had a hard time trying to copy them, but she was able to get the apron on correctly. Mia was standing there with a weird bottle in hand and an annoyed glare. "Hurry up, will you? We don't have all fucking day." She snapped.

Tenten flinched and scurried over to the chair, quickly taking her seat before the woman bit her head off in a fit of anger. She was immediately lowered and came face to face with a metal faucet. She blinked in shock before a burst of water fell from it and splashed her right in the face. She coughed and puttered to get the water from throat that was stuck and distantly began to worry that this woman was trying to kill her, that the water in her face was no accident. A cold substance fell onto to her scalp and was being rubbed in completely before Mia pulled her head a little too hard to wash out all the bubbles. Tenten could only question when she had pulled out her buns and without her noticing.

Another thing of conditioner was woven into her hair and she caught the smell of honeydew and mango. It made her slightly hungry. When both were washed out completely and there was nothing left of the soap – it took Mia awhile to make sure that nothing was left since she needed perfection – another bottle of something was pulled out and placed on the edge next to a weird looking brush. She watched in wonder as she applied the color on the brush and then dipped her chair back into the sink where it had been. When the brush scraped along her scalp, a shiver ran up and down her spine and she squirmed in the seat.

"Stop that!" Mia hissed, attempting to fix what she had messed up while muttering curses under her breath. Tenten, in fear of the water coming out again and hitting her in the face with the ability to choke her, kept her mouth shut while the small brush worked its way into the separate strands of hair. She was slightly compelled to ask Mia what she was doing and what was going to happen with hair but decided that the time may not exactly be right to ask and she would just be patient.

"I'll be back in twenty minutes and then I can continue with this, okay? If you can still that long." She grumbled before walking over to the other hairdressers and plopping onto the couch. She could feel the annoyance radiating from the other girls and wondered if they were thinking the same thing as she: just what the hell was going on and were they going to be able to find out about this soon? Because she really didn't want to wait for twenty minutes or whatever that damn brat had said. How was she going to stay entertained?!

Luckily for her, she was able to be distracted easily and her train of thought was going everywhere at almost a million miles per hour. She thought about her training when she wanted to be just like Tsunade and giggled over how idiotic she must have seemed. And then her thoughts turned to Gai and Lee. And sitting in the chair for the reason that she was, Tenten wondered if either of those two had ever been to salon themselves to get their eyebrows plucked. Maybe she should treat them to a spa day when she returned? _**If **__I return from this mission_. She thought with a nervous frown. What was the percentage that she would return alive? She didn't know.

Before her thoughts could go to Neji, Mia was back in her line of sight and Tenten was just able to shift before the crazy woman turned the water back on. She looked slightly frustrated that she wasn't able to hit the girl in her face and Tenten was laughing on the inside with a smirk. It was very funny to see Mia angry because she hadn't been able to kill her target, but it also made her nervous. Was this person really trying to kill her? It had to be the only explanation. Why else would someone turn on the water right in another person's face? She was going to keep her eyes on the girl.

"You can sit up now." She lifted up the seat and watched Tenten for a second before walking back over to the couch and plopping down with a magazine in hand, flipping the pages. Tenten scanned the room really quickly and noticed that the other girls were still in the sink with the hair dressers bent over them, doing something she wasn't able to see very well. Hesitantly, she pulled off the apron and walked over to the mirror on the other side of the room. Swallowing the nervous pit in her throat, she took a look and gasped, almost falling over at the sight.

Her hair was down and cascading to her ribs with deep curls. But what shocked her the most was that her hair had turned _blue. What the hell!? _She thought, racking her fingers through the thick mass of curls. She turned around quickly to look at the other girls and almost passed out. They were all sitting up and looking around while blinking their eyes rapidly.

Sakura's hair was brown instead of pink and her eyes were a deep gray. Ino had red hair – boy, was she going to take that very well – with bright amber eyes. Hinata looked like a shyer version of Ino with darker blue eyes, with the pupils missing as well. And Temari looked like she changed the most with her purple hair and bright green eyes that looked like Sakura's old ones. There was one thing that passed through her head that went flying out passed her lips before she even knew it.

"_What the hell is this_!?"

* * *

A/N: So much longer than the first chapter O.O But I hope this wasn't sucky. I wanted to kind of get in depth with some of the things for them. So yes, this story will be focusing mostly on mental disorders and how they try to cope with them while going this mission that meant death of one thing is wrong and love interests. And on that note, Ino has Anorexia Nervosa while Sakura has Bulimia Nervosa and Bipolar Disorder. And _yes_, the way I described Bipolar Disorder is right. It doesn't mean your emotions go from one thing to another in five seconds. Gosh, I hate when people do that. And no, Sakura won't have Schizophrenia. That voice she heard is something most people with mental illnesses tend to hear. But anyway, don't forget to tell me which Akatsuki you want the girls with! And sorry if this seems rushed. I did most of this in two days.

~Starstrukk234


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